Vikas Sheoran Essays - Holocene, Geological History Of Earth

Vikas Sheoran History B.A Programme (1392) 20 th September 2017 Pa ttern of living in India in Mesolithic and Neolithic Age The names for these periods all derive from the Greek word "lithos" - a stone - and refer to the material used for tools. Effective ways of producing and working metal had not yet been invented, so cutting, grinding, chopping all had to be done with stone, bone, or wood implements. "Meso-" means "middle" or "between", "Neo-" means "new". Originally these were all thought of together as the "Stone Age", but it became apparent that there were various developments during the periods which enable archaeologists to classify and date a culture more precisely. THE MESOLITHIC PERIOD The Mesolithic period , roughly dated 10,000BC to between 6,000 and 4,000BC. Towards the end of the Palaeolithic, the earth's climate gradually became warmer, the Ice Ages ended, glaciers retreated and melted, and some of the cold-weather animals such as the woolly mammoth died out. The evidences of Mesolithic stage' in India are quantitatively and qualitatively richer than the preceding stage of Stone Age, the Paleolithic Age. In certain areas, these industries have survived at least dawn to early historic times showing a transition from Paleolithic industries to a more advanced type of industries. The oldest human skeletal remains yet known from India came from the Mesolithic level. But, is really a matter of great disgrace that no plant remain has yet been found from any Mesolithic site. A number of living sites of this age that have been discovered mainly from Western and Central India provide us with variety of data regarding the way of the life of the communities. The Mesolithic was a transition period. Climates were shifting, food sources as well. The Pleistocene mega fauna, vast and ready supplies of protein afoot that fed humans on their eventual path to every corner of the earth were on their way to extinction, and human societies were forced to deal with these changing circumstanc es upon which they relied. Meanwhile, technology started to evolve and adapt to these new conditions and life ways. It may be argued that the first animal husbandry was developed during the Mesolithic (or maybe this marked the beginning of the Neolithic). With more humans living more densely than ever before in history (in certain areas), things such as trade and trade routes were able to increase greatly. The exchange of technology and culture was thus more readily transferred. More settled life facilitated more elaborate material culture. The Mesolithic sites in distribution cover almost the entire country except a few areas like Indo- gangetic plain, Assam and most of the Western coast of India. In Indo-gangetic plain, their absence can be explained by the lack of primary raw material (stones) for making tools. Assam and Western coast were probably left uninhabited due to very high rainfall and dense vegetation in this area. The regions like Gujarat plains, Marwar, Mewar etc. show dense concentrations of sites in contrast to other areas. The vast tract of country between Godavari and Mahanadi has just started to be explored. Men developed tools and weapons made of "microliths" - small chips and flakes of sharp stone or flint which could be set into a piece of wood or bone to give a cutting implement, or which could be used as arrow points. Primitive man used tools and implements of rough stone. Flint was commonly used as it is hard but flakes easily. Tools serve a variety of purposes such as skinning of dead animals, cutting their flesh and splitting bones etc. Man during this period was essentially a food gatherer. He was totally dependent on nature for his food supply; requirement of game animals and edible plants. In course of time he learnt to control fire which helped improve the pattern of living in many ways. He used the skins of animals, barks of trees and large leaves as clothes. Men were organized in small wandering groups consisting of few men, women and children. Changes in Life in Mesolithic Era DOMESTICATION OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS The economy of early period of Mesolithic age was based on hunting, fishing and food gathering. Slowly domesticating crops